The results of elections in the state of New York have tended to be more Democratic-leaning than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, including Westchester County, Rockland County and Long Island's Nassau county, and in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Ithaca. Republican voters, in the minority, are concentrated in more rural Upstate New York, particularly in the Adirondack Mountains, the Alleghany Mountains, Central New York, and in parts of the Hudson Valley, particularly in Putnam County, as well as Suffolk County on Eastern Long Island and Staten Island. Despite the imbalance in registration, New York voters have shown a willingness to elect relatively centrist Republicans to local offices, though not in the Presidential election. New York is near unique among the states in that it allows electoral fusion (cross-endorsement). As a result, New York ballots tend to list many political parties. The endorsement of major party candidates by smaller parties can be important since smaller parties often use this ballot feature to offer a candidate an additional line on the ballot. In a 2020 study, New York was ranked as the 17th easiest state for citizens to vote in. Electoral system Electoral procedure Primary elections are elections at which enrolled members of a party nominate party candidates for the general election and elect party officers. New York uses closed primaries and only an enrolled member of a party can vote in its primaries. The election district is the basic electoral administrative division, containing a maximum of 950 registered voters (although it may be as large as 1150 registered voters between redistricting) with boundaries determined by the local board of elections. The person for party nomination for public office who receives a plurality of the vote is nominated as the party candidate. The state central committee of a political party designates people for statewide public offices in the primary election by majority vote, but people who receive at least 25% of the committee votes may contest the primary, and people who receive less than 25% of the committee votes may contest the primary by collecting 25000 petition signatures with at least 100 signatories from each congressional district. The political party county executive committees in cities and towns and the party caucus in villages typically select candidates for local